


special k

by thunderylee



Category: KAT-TUN (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, M/M, Romance, body switching, time travelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2019-01-21 22:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12467304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: Kame thought his life couldn’t get any harder, and then he woke up as someone else.





	special k

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck. written for je_holiday 2011.

When Kame said he wanted to be taller, he assumed it would be obvious that he meant in his own body.

“Shit,” he says to the empty room – well, empty of humans, anyway. At the foot of the bed that is definitely not his, not with that ugly comforter, a fluffy cat eyes him suspiciously.

Carefully Kame stretches his hand out, a hand that is too big for him, and watches the cat sniff at it a few times before deeming him worthy of contact. The foreign fingers slip through the soft fur easily, his focus on petting the cat instead of the insane predicament in which he’s found himself, then suddenly the cat pulls away and growls.

“Good girl,” Kame whispers in an unknown voice, frowning as he catches a glimpse of the cat’s nametag. “Good boy, I mean… Nyanta-chan.”

Nyanta sticks his nose in the air and jumps off of the bed, and Kame doesn’t have to look in the mirror to know whose face is staring back at him. There’s only one person he knows who has a cat named Nyanta.

With all intentions to march right to his own house where he will undoubtedly find Koyama Keiichiro in his own body, Kame flings off the covers and gets to his feet.

And promptly falls on his face. Long legs are overrated, anyway.

~

“Wow, just… wow!” Koyama says for the umpteenth time since Kame stormed into his bedroom and performed the surreal task of shaking his own body awake. Now he’s watching his face perk in curiosity, filled with excitement as he hangs on Kame’s every word.

“You’re late,” Kame rushes him, prodding him out of bed and flying to the closet to pick out something to wear. “You have filming for KAT-TUN’s show this morning, then two photo shoots, but thankfully no drama filming until after lunch. Take this-” he thrusts the very worn-out script at his bewildered self “-and memorize the lines for episode nine, scene four. There’s an interview and performance tonight, but I’m trying not to think about that right now.”

Koyama just stares at him, and Kame watches his own eyes widen like he’s looking in a mirror without making the expression himself. “Aren’t we going to figure out how this happened?”

“I don’t have time to dwell on that,” Kame replies, feeling uncomfortable in Koyama’s voice. It’s just not meant to be stern. “That is,  _you_ don’t have time. What do you have going on today?”

“What?” Koyama asks blankly as he changes into the clothes Kame had picked out. “What do you mean?”

“Work,” Kame clarifies exasperatedly. He really doesn’t have that long to get Koyama to the set. “You’re the NEWS leader now, right? What’s on your schedule for today?”

Koyama blinks. “Nothing. News Every is only once a week, and that’s all I have right now. NEWS hasn’t been given any activities yet, but we’re hoping to hear soon!”

Nothing. Kame processes the concept of having a full day off, and it confuses him so much that he doesn’t notice Koyama poking at his new face in the mirror.

“I feel so  _small_ ,” Koyama says, and Kame cuts narrowed eyes to his reflection. “Ah, it’s strange to see that kind of expression on my own face! Don’t worry, Kamenashi-kun, I’ll memorize your lines and make you look good on TV. I’m happy to have something to do.”

“I’m happy to have a break,” Kame admits, biting his lip when the smile he sees is brighter than Kame’s ever made it himself. “Come on, let’s go.”

Kame nearly drags Koyama to his car, where he hops in the driver’s seat and groans in frustration as he’s instantly squished against the steering wheel. He hears his real voice laughing at him as he moves the seat back and can’t help but join in, the situation so absurd that it’s amusing. Besides, Koyama’s attitude is positive enough to be contagious, and Kame regrets not spending time with him before. He’s so _nice_.

“It’ll be okay, Kamenashi-kun,” Koyama assures him, and Kame feels his new body relax from the sudden mental strain he’s sure it’s not used to. “We’ll make it somehow.”

~

Koki stares right into Kame’s face, then Koyama’s, then back to Kame’s. Only Koyama flinches, and Koki stands back in shock. “ _Whoa_.”

“I still don’t believe you,” Ueda says, then considers how Kame is the one who glares. “Although you’re both very convincing as the other.”

Ignoring him, Kame moves to stand between Taguchi and Nakamaru, at eye level with both of them for the first time. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” he says, folding his arms smugly.

Nakamaru looks right into his eyes, and Kame pouts at him. “It’s really Kame in there,” Nakamaru announces, sounding like he’s assuring himself as well as the others.

“He’s not this good at jokes anyway,” Taguchi agrees, and Kame stands even taller next to him.

“So what are we going to do?” Ueda asks, looking at Kame expectantly. The others do the same, including Koyama.

“Just go on as it is,” Kame replies. “We’ve already gone over my itinerary for today. Luckily I have a slow day.”

“ _This_  is slow?” Koyama asks incredulously, making Kame’s voice squeak a little. Koki slings an arm around him comfortingly, and Kame feels like an outsider in his own group.

“You should go,” Nakamaru tells him gently, wincing at the sad eyes that are undoubtedly more effective on Koyama’s face. “It wouldn’t be good if you were seen with us at work. This is how rumors get started.”

“What rumors could possibly come of me being seen with you guys?” Koyama asks, and it looks weird coming from Kame’s body and voice. “That I have to come to KAT-TUN for leadership advice or something?”

Ueda bursts out laughing at that, followed by the others, and even Kame cracks a smile.

“Keep doing that,” Koyama says, and Kame belatedly realizing he’s the one being addressed. “You’ll stress out my face and give me wrinkles if you frown too much.”

“Is that really true?” Koki asks curiously.

Taguchi grins. “I’m going to be forever young!”

Surprisingly, Kame’s new face feels lighter while he’s smiling. He supposes he should be careful not to fret too much like this. He wouldn’t want to raise Koyama’s blood pressure.

“I’m going to go, then,” he says awkwardly, tossing his keys to Koyama, who catches them with that bewildered expression that still looks out of place on Kame’s face. “You have a lot of places to go today, you’ll need my car,” he explains, pausing as his tension rises again. “Do you have directions to both of the studios? Have you even heard our new song yet? We should probably tell Anne-san…”

“It really is you in there,” Taguchi interrupts him, clapping him on the shoulder. “Calm  _down_ , Kame-chan. You’re going to give Koyama-kun an aneurysm.”

“Please don’t make my brain explode,” Koyama says in a small voice, looking at him with Kame’s pleading eyes.

“We’ll be fine,” Ueda says firmly. “We should start filming now. It’s my and Taguchi’s day, so Koyama-kun just has to stand there and look bored like you usually do. You should go enjoy your considerably less hectic day, Kazuya.”

“If you get lonely, call Shige,” Koyama suggests brightly. “He’s number one on my speed dial.”

The only thing more awkward than being in this room right now would be hanging out with Kato, but all Kame does is nod and take his leave. It’s oddly formal, and Kame feels much better when he gets outside.

He takes the train back to his place, just because he can. It’s the first time in years that he hasn’t been near-mauled on public transit.

~

“Kei, thank God, you’re here,” an unfamiliar voice bursts into Koyama’s apartment, causing Kame to look up from where he’s organizing Koyama’s bookshelf. Nyanta’s in the windowsill, ignoring them both.

“Hello,” Kame greets him, because he doesn’t know what else to say. He can count on one hand how many times he’s spoken to Kato Shigeaki outside of work in his life, and most of them were years ago.

“Kamenashi just called me freaking out,” Kato goes on, and Kame flinches at the tone of his own name. “He kept saying he was you and you were him and the strangest part is that it actually  _sounded_  like how you talk, just in his voice. I don’t even know how he got my number.”

“He probably has it memorized,” Kame replies calmly, and Kato stops pacing to stare at him. “Koyama-kun, I mean. He was speaking the truth – we really did switch bodies.”

Kato doesn’t say anything right away, and Kame figures he’s assessing his best friend’s level of crazy. “You’re not this good at jokes, Kei.”

“That makes two of us,” Kame replies with a snort. “Trust me, I’m more messed up about this than you are, but I can assure you that I’m not Koyama-kun.”

“No… you’re not,” Kato agrees slowly, kneeling next to him on the carpet. “How did this happen?”

Kame shrugs. “I don’t know, but it  _has_. All we can do is just try our best to be each other until we change back.”

“Are you and Kei even friends?” Kato asks, and Kame shakes his head. “Why the two of you?”

“All I can think is…” Kame sighs, his eyes drawn towards the window. He should be Bem right now. “I’ve been wishing for awhile that I had more time, you know. Like a break, or even a vacation, just for a day. Maybe Koyama-kun wished the opposite, and this is how they came true.”

“That’s impossible,” Kato says, faltering when Kame raises an eyebrow. “I mean, switching bodies in itself is pretty out there, but… ah! I’ve got an idea.”

Kato pulls out his laptop, which Kame supposes he carries with him everywhere, and boots it up. His desktop is a picture of him and Koyama on a trip of some sort, and Kame smiles at the sight. They’re really good friends, it seems.

After a long process of typing and clicking, a video feed flashes onto the screen and they’re greeted by an extreme close-up of a very sleepy Tegoshi. “Shiiiiiiiigeeeeeeee,” he whines.

“Tegoshi, it’s two in the afternoon,” Kato chides him. “Why are you sleeping?”

“Nap,” Tegoshi replies, and Kame just laughs. Out of all of NEWS, at least the last four standing, he knows Tegoshi the best. “We were up late after the show last night.”

“Ah, that’s right, you’re on tour,” Kame says without thinking, and Tegoshi peers at him.

Suddenly Tegoshi’s eyes go wide and he flails around, calling for Massu as he stares hard into what Kame believes is his cell phone. Then Masuda’s smiling face joins Tegoshi, and both of them look at Kame in awe.

“Koyama isn’t himself,” Massu assesses, and Kame beams at him, glad  _someone_  noticed.

Tegoshi gasps. “Kame-chan.”

“How did you…” Kame starts, then remembers who he’s asking. “Yes, I’m Kamenashi.”

“Any ideas how this could have happened?” Kato asks, looking pointedly at Tegoshi.

Tegoshi narrows his eyes. “How would I know?”

“You have a psychology degree!” Kato exclaims. “This has to be some kind of… personality thing.”

“Are you hearing voices?” Tegoshi asks Kame sarcastically. “Do you ever have periods of blackouts? Does it ever just feel like too much to go on living?”

“Okay, smartass,” Kato says, and Tegoshi laughs. “Maybe not a personality thing, but we’re all out of logic here.”

“Wait, is that really Kamenashi-kun?” Massu jumps in, and Kame nods at him. “Does this mean the real Koyama is… you?”

There’s a long pause as the weight of this realization dawns upon the other three.

“He’ll be fine,” Kame says. “I’m actually not that busy right now. Just my radio show, my baseball show, KAT-TUN’s show, the drama, and our new single.”

Three pairs of eyes blink at him. “I don’t think Yamashita-kun had that much at his busiest,” Massu comments.

“Well, Koyama hasn’t called me yet,” Kame justifies, holding out Koyama’s cell phone for emphasis. “I told him if he had any problems, he could call.”

“It’s easy for Kei to adapt to new things,” Kato says. “It’s one of his best qualities.”

“He’s like a social chameleon,” Tegoshi adds. “I wouldn’t worry, Kame-chan.”

“I’m not worried, surprisingly,” Kame tells them. “I don’t know if it’s his body or what, but I feel really relaxed right now.”

“Probably because it’s your first day off in like two years,” Kato offers, and Kame can’t argue. “It’s not like our group is doing anything anyway, and I’m sure it won’t be hard for you to give a news report.”

“Looking forward to it, actually,” Kame admits. “Is it selfish if I want this to last at least a week?”

Tegoshi grins at him. “I’ve always wanted to trade places with Koki-kun, just to see what it’s like being him.”

“Koki leads a very wild life,” Kame says with a scoff. “Who knows, maybe it will happen to you two next.”

Kato and Massu look like they don’t approve of this one bit, and Kame smiles at how much they care about each other. With as different as NEWS and KAT-TUN are, at least this part is still the same.

And now that he officially the leader, he’s going to take advantage of it.

~

“Koyama-kun,” Johnny greets Kame, looking surprised to say the least. “What brings you to my office this fine winter day?”

“I’d like NEWS to do something,” Kame says carefully. He would bet that Koyama doesn’t have nearly as much pull with Johnny as he does. “Anything. A commercial. An appearance somewhere. Something to embrace the new four-member NEWS.”

Johnny just smiles, leaning back in his chair, and Kame actually thinks of Jin. This is the exact same reaction Johnny had every time Jin had dragged Kame in here to ask about KAT-TUN’s debut. It was so long ago, but all it takes is Johnny’s amused expression to bring it all flooding back to him.

“You will be a great leader,” Johnny tells him, and Kame feels proud even though it’s not really him who is being praised. “But if you think that Yamashita-kun wasn’t in here asking that exact same thing every month, I question your faith in your  _old_  leader.”

Nodding, Kame straightens even more and notices how different Johnny’s office looks from a half a foot higher. “Individual work, then? Kato- I mean, Shige and I have a lot of free time.”

Now Johnny’s wrinkled face takes on an odd expression, and Kame belatedly thinks he probably should have run this past Koyama before taking it upon himself to get his group some work. “I told you this before, didn’t I? I’m the old man here, not you. You shouldn’t be forgetting things so easily. We need to give the fans time to adjust to the new NEWS, remember? I have plans for your group in the New Year, and that’s all I will tell you right now.”

“Yes, sir,” Kame says mechanically. “I’ll be leaving, then-”

“Wait,” Johnny halts him, and Kame feels like a deer caught in headlights. “Have a seat.”

Kame quickly sits, avoiding Johnny’s scrutinizing eyes as his boss picks up his phone and buzzes his secretary.

“KAT-TUN is working today, right?” he asks her. “Send Kamenashi to my office.”

The temperature in the room suddenly drops. Kame tries to keep his cool for the next five minutes, when Koyama breezes into the room and takes a seat like he’s here all the time, Kame’s face set in a welcoming grin.

“Koyama-kun,” Johnny starts, and to Kame’s dismay, he gets two responses. “Just as I thought.”

Kame hears that squeak in his own voice again and turns to glare at Koyama. “You make it through three days of my life and  _now_  you blow it?” he hisses.

“Says the one who scared my  _mother_  by spot-cleaning my entire apartment and rearranging everything in it,” Koyama shoots back. “She thought I’d been possessed!”

Kame has the decency to look sheepish. “I was  _bored_ , okay?”

“Three days?” Johnny interjects, reminding both Kame and Koyama that he’s still in the room. “Kamenashi still has two more weeks of drama filming! How have you been dealing with it all, Koyama-kun?”

He’s addressing the real Koyama now, and Kame frowns. Johnny never asks  _him_  how he deals with his workload.

“I just smile and do my best,” Koyama replies with a shrug. “Playing Bem is fun, although I think Anne-san suspects that something is different.”

“She probably thinks I’m on drugs,” Kame mutters. “You are like fifty times more cheerful than I have ever been.”

“Is that what gave him away?” Koyama asks Johnny, then turns back to Kame. “You’ll never convince anyone you’re me if you don’t smile.”

“No, it wasn’t that,” Johnny replies, getting that amused look again. “The real Koyama would have  _never_  approached me like you did just now. That’s something only Kamenashi would do.”

“Not just me,” Kame says without thinking, and Johnny laughs.

“No, not just you,” Johnny replies with a fond expression. “But there’s a world of difference between you and Akanishi, too.”

Nobody has to tell Kame that. “So now that you know, what should we do about this?” he asks.

Johnny appears to be thinking about it, looking back and forth between the pair of them before folding his hands into a triangle. “Do both of your groups know?”

“Yes,” Kame answers, and Koyama looks surprised. “Kato invited himself over after you called him the other day and he video-conferenced Tegoshi and Masuda from his laptop.”

“Ah,” Koyama says fondly. “I miss those guys.”

Kame watches the wheels turn in the old man’s head. “What are you thinking, sir?”

“A collaboration,” Johnny states, and Kame blinks. “For the holiday season, KAT-TUN and NEWS will work together as a temporary nine-member unit.”

Koyama squeals, and Kame hopes he never has to hear that noise in his voice again. “That sounds so fun!” Koyama exclaims. “I’ll do my best!”

“With all due respect,” Kame starts, “how will that help us change back?”

“It won’t,” Johnny says bluntly, “but it’s better to keep you two together to avoid any… problems. And by the way, Kamenashi-kun,” he adds pointedly, “you are getting what you originally wanted when you walked in here asking for NEWS to have more work.”

“You did?” Koyama asks, and Kame hangs his head. “You didn’t have to do that, Kamenashi-kun.”

Kame doesn’t look at him. “I’m sorry, I just thought since you’re the leader now maybe I could make something happen for you guys. I won’t try to take over your group again.”

“What are you talking about?” Koyama asks, and  _now_  Kame turns to face him. “I’m happy you care about my group enough to do that. I wish I was as brave as you.”

“I…” Kame stares at him, speechless. “I’m not that brave.”

“Kamenashi Kazuya, you are one of the bravest people I know,” Koyama says firmly, and Kame feels something twist in his heart. “And that’s that.”

Kame doesn’t argue, just gives a single nod, Koyama’s bangs falling into his face. “Thank you.”

“Think of it as a vacation,” Johnny tells him. “I won’t even make you be the NEWS representative in the collaboration. Tegoshi and Koyama – as Kamenashi – can handle it, I think.”

“Tego-nyan will love that,” Koyama says happily. “But then there aren’t any  _real_  KAT-TUN representatives-”

“I’m fine with that,” Kame says. “It will be fun for us no matter who’s in charge. We like NEWS.”

“Then it’s settled.” Johnny claps his hands together. “I want a winter-themed song for Countdown and some kind of bonding trip planned before, to release on DVD with the limited edition single. Kamenashi and Kato will make all the arrangements.”

“Eh?” Kame questions, looking from his own face to Johnny and back. “I thought you said Koyama and Tegoshi were going to do it.”

“KAT-TUN is still promoting ‘Birth’ and TegoMasu are touring until after Christmas,” Johnny tells him. “What have you got to do?”

Kame slumps down in his chair. “Point taken.”

“Don’t worry,” Koyama says, leaning across the space between their chairs to pat Kame on the arm. “Shige’s fun to work with. Just don’t let him anywhere near the costumes.”

“Noted,” Kame replies, holding back his sigh. “I’ll do my best.”

After the meeting is adjourned, Kame watches Koyama return to KAT-TUN’s rehearsal and finds the bright side of this whole collaboration. He misses his band mates, too.

~

It only takes ten minutes for Kame to learn that he and Kato clash completely. They’re both too focused on the details, drifting off topic onto things like formations and ambiance, and finally Kame tears a piece of paper from Kato’s notebook and starts to draw a chart on it.

“We’re getting nowhere,” he grumbles, sectioning off each category as a header: Song, Trip, Costumes, Choreography, and Schedule. Underneath each header, he adds an outline of various other things related to the category, until the entire page is filled up.

“You’re really organized,” Kato tells him, looking a little in awe.

“This is how I function,” Kame replies. “This is how  _KAT-TUN_  functions. The only reason I’ve slept since this transformation is because I have one of these in our office that goes through the rest of the year.”

“I don’t actually know what I’m doing,” Kato admits, and Kame notices that the expression he’d mistook as awe is more intimidated. “And it’s so creepy to look at my best friend and have a complete stranger inside.”

Kame turns on the couch, tucking his long legs underneath him and faces Kato. “Look, I don’t want to be here either, okay. I know I said I wanted more time, but I wanted it as  _myself_. What’s the point of having more if I can’t spend it with my own family? It would be awkward to go see them like this. It’s already awkward to go everywhere like this. I feel like I’m lost in my own body, which isn’t even mine.”

He’s rambling, only stopping when Kato takes the paper from him. “Let’s do the easy part first. It shouldn’t be too hard to think of somewhere for the nine of us to go for one night in the middle of winter.”

Kame’s torn between being grateful and being offended, but all he does is nod as he comes up with a list of onsen resorts. “We could always go camping in Okinawa, too.”

“Oh, I like that idea,” Kato says. “It doesn’t get that cold there, but I don’t know if the old man will want to fly us back right before Countdown.”

“We can go the week before,” Kame offers, flipping through Koyama’s cell phone calendar where he has everyone’s schedules. “TegoMasu have nine days between their last sets of concerts, probably to account for the Christmas special. We can go right after they’re done in Yokohama.”

“That gives them absolutely no break,” Kato points out. “You’ve worked with Tegoshi before – do you really want to feel his wrath when he’s toured for two months straight?”

“I’ll ask him,” Kame says simply as he opens a text message. Tegoshi must have been right by his phone, because he replies immediately. “’It’s okay if it’s Okinawa’,” Kame reads. “’But I insist that Massu and I be relieved of any and all duties’.”

“Deal,” Kame says and types at the same time, then gives Kato a smug look. “Looks like we’re going to Okinawa.”

Kato has an indescribable expression on his face. “You look like Kei when you do that.”

“Now that that’s decided,” Kame moves on, and now it’s Kato who looks relieved, “we’ll choose the song next. Let’s listen to the demos together and see which one we like the best.”

They’re all boring love songs that involve snow, and Kame can tell from the distant look in Kato’s eyes that he is of a similar opinion. There are quite a variety of moods, though, from hopeful to regretful to heartfelt. Then the last one starts, slow and charming, and Kame can already hear them singing it.

“I like this one,” Kato says after it ends. “It’s the only one that isn’t blatantly about romantic love. It can be for families or good friends, too.”

“It will make a good a cappella,” Kame thinks out loud, and Kato nods. “It has that air of walking together yet separate, so it can encompass both of our groups as well as how we’re both rebuilding.”

“That’s… yeah.” Kato finally looks at him, half impressed and half interested. “Are you usually deep like this?”

“When I have a chance to be,” Kame answers, feeling his face grow warm. “The other guys usually stop me before I get too ‘philosophical’, and often I’m just too busy to think about any more than what’s on the surface.”

“I like it,” Shige says bluntly, then sucks his bottom lip into his mouth like he regrets saying it. “I mean, it’s nice to have these kinds of conversations sometimes, you know? I love everyone in my group, before and now, but none of them are exactly deep thinkers.”

“It’s fun to think like that,” Kame says, feeling more relaxed than he has in months as he slumps on Kato’s couch and smiles at the man next to him. “It’s almost like stretching exercises for the mind. It  _mentally_  feels good.”

“Yeah, I think so, too.”

Now Kato’s smiling, and Kame thinks he should be in toothpaste commercials with as bright as his smile is. With his mind already opened, the metaphors come flowing out, and Kame stops them before he embarrasses himself. This is a work meeting, not a date, and even just making that comparison has Kame pulling out of the depths of speculation back into the logic of reality.

“We’ve made it through the hard part,” Kame declares, laughing when Kato cheers. “It’s all downhill from here.”

Speaking of metaphors, this one has a double meaning, although Kame feels like there’s a brick wall at the end of his hill.

~

After two weeks, Kame has grown more accustomed to Koyama’s life. It’s still a shock to wake up in Koyama’s bed every morning and function with his long limbs, but his family is as nice as Koyama is and Nyanta warms up to him enough to sleep on his head.

It’s also two weeks before he and Kato are done with the collaboration details, which are approved by Johnny and sent to the others. If it’s anything like KAT-TUN’s normal work, there will be a few complaints accompanied by suggestions for changes, which will lead to a bunch of endless debates before everyone eventually gives up arguing their respective point and settles for what they already have.

When Koki, Ueda, Taguchi, and Nakamaru all reply with ‘OK’, Kame instantly calls Koyama and demands, “What have you done to my band mates?”

“Nothing!” Koyama replies defensively, but he’s laughing. Kame will never get used to hearing his own voice speak back at him. “This agenda is very well-thought out and covers everything. As expected from you two.”

Kame listens for background noise and finds none. “Are you sure you didn’t drug them? It’s too quiet on your end.”

“ _Kame_ ,” Koyama chides, then gasps. “Ah, sorry. They call you ‘Kame’ all the time so I must have picked it up. Sorry.”

“It’s fine if you call me ‘Kame’,” Kame tells him. “They talk about me?”

“Of course they do,” Koyama replies. “They’re helping me learn how to behave like you, so they point out every time I do something Kame-like or un-Kame-like. Usually the latter.”

“Sounds like them,” Kame mutters, trying not to sound bitter. It’s only been two weeks, but he hasn’t gone this long without seeing his group in years. “Kato-kun hasn’t been instructing me on Koyama-like behavior. We should probably do that, too.”

“Just smile,” Koyama says. “And be happy. That’s me.”

“That’s easy to do.” Kame smiles, even though Koyama can’t see it. “Must come with the body.”

“Speaking of…” Koyama begins slowly. “This is kind of personal, but do you mind telling me who has a key to your apartment?”

“Not at all,” Kame answers. “Everyone in KAT-TUN, Jin, my parents, my brothers, and Yamashita.”

“No women?” Koyama prods.

Kame laughs. “Not unless my mother counts. Or Jin.”

“Ah, okay.” Koyama shifts around with the phone. “Koki-kun just said something about one of your girlfriends possibly letting herself in and thinking I was you, and…”

“That’s Koki for you.” Kame snorts. “He’s just messing around.”

“So you don’t have any girlfriends I should be worried about?” Koyama asks awkwardly.

“I don’t even like girls,” Kame says bluntly, then realizes that probably makes it worse. “I don’t have any boyfriends, either,” he rushes to add.

“You’re gay? Really?” Koyama sounds curious in the innocent way, and Kame’s reminded of when he’d first come out to his group. “Sorry, that probably comes off as rude-”

“It’s fine,” Kame interrupts. “I’m surprised there are still people in the agency who don’t know, but I guess you guys wouldn’t really be discussing my sexual orientation during NEWS meetings.”

Koyama’s laugh only sounds a little bit uncomfortable. “There’s something for you and Shige to bond over.”

A choking fit claims Kame for a few seconds, even though he hadn’t been drinking or eating anything. “Him too?” he gets out.

“Oh yeah,” Koyama replies. “He was dating this guy from his uni for like two years. It’s been awhile since they broke up, but he still thinks girls are gross, so I’m pretty sure he still swings that way.”

“What about you?” Kame changes the topic abruptly. “Anyone I have to worry about jumping into bed with me?”

“Just Nyanta,” Koyama replies. “And he’ll jump on anyone who pets him.”

They chat for awhile longer, catching each other up on their regular lives, and Kame knows that Koyama misses his as much as Kame does. He may have been incredibly busy, but he  _liked_  it and looked forward to doing different things all the time. Kame likes variety, in both his professional and personal life. It’s one of the reasons why he’s still single.

His thoughts travel towards Kato, who is actually a prospect now, and Kame doesn’t bother trying to force them away this time. He’s genuinely interested in Kato as a person, particularly how he can keep up with Kame’s introspective ramblings with the potential to give back some of his own. Intellect is Kame’s biggest turn on, and if he’s being honest with himself, Kato has enough of it for Kame to light up Tokyo at night.

It figures that he would finally find someone he wants to pursue when he’s not in his own body, Kame thinks with a sigh. At least he’s comforted with the fact that they have to change back  _sometime_.

And in the meantime, he’ll just keep falling harder.

~

The first official meeting of FUSION, which was  _not_  one of Kame and Kato’s name choices, is in Kame’s apartment with seven participants. Kame flies through his front door like he’s been gone for three months instead of three weeks, instantly dropping to the floor to scoop up his dogs and give them some overdue love.

“I almost asked you to bring Nyanta with you,” Koyama says sadly from the kitchen, where he’s making tea for everyone. “But I figured he wouldn’t get along with Ran and Jelly.”

“You can come by and see him whenever you want,” Kame tells him, trying to look sincere with two dogs licking his face. “It’s your place, after all.”

“Now that Bem’s over, maybe I will,” Koyama offers. “Anne-san wanted your number on the last day of filming, by the way.”

“Of course she did,” Taguchi calls out as he lets himself in. “All of the ladies  _love_  Kamenashi. He’s a total chick magnet.”

“Shut up,” Kame mutters, and Taguchi still manages to put him in a headlock despite being the same height.

“Ah, I missed doing this to you,” Taguchi says into his hair. “Kei-chan isn’t nearly as fun to torment.”

“’Kei-chan’?” Kame repeats.

“A lot of people call me that,” Koyama explains as he brings out the tea. “Or just Kei. You can, too, you know.”

“Okay.” Kame accepts a mug of his own tea and sits in his armchair. “Kei,” he tries out.

Koyama smiles and heads to the door to let in the others. He’s dressed like Kame, hair pulled back in a ponytail and big black-rimmed glasses; he must not have felt like putting in his contacts this morning. He’s wearing a pair of jeans that Kame hasn’t even seen in three years and a T-shirt that says something in English he doesn’t understand (but Jin had informed him once that it makes no sense). This Kamenashi looks relaxed and carefree, a big smile on his face as he greets his guests with tea, and Kame wonders why he couldn’t be like that before.

“Kaaaaameeeeeee~” Koki screeches, running across the living room and dive-bombing right onto Kame’s lap. “I missed you!”

“Get off me,” Kame grumbles, struggling in the smaller man’s grip (much smaller, Kame realizes happily), but he eventually gives in to Koki’s hug. He’s followed by Nakamaru, who gives him an awkward bro fist while Ueda claps him on the shoulder in greeting.

Then Kato shows up, practically shining in regular street clothes, and Kame looks away before the dumb metaphors come back. He’s got it bad.

“What?” he hears his own voice ask, and he glances over at Koyama to find him making that confused face again. “I’m Kei, remember?”

“Right, right,” Kato says, and it must be Kame’s imagination that his voice is deeper than normal. “I still think you’re Kamenashi-kun, so-”

“Kame,” Kame cuts him off, clearing his throat as the others turn their eyes to him. “You can call me Kame, I mean. Everyone else does. Or Kazuya, whatever.”

Now his own face is giving him a knowing look, and Kame expertly avoids it by drinking his tea. Luckily Koyama starts the meeting then, and Kame’s awkwardness is overlooked in favor of more pressing matters. Like this song they have to learn in two weeks. The choral arrangers had just gotten it back to them, so they have to divide up the parts and hope that Massu and Tegoshi can learn it on their own. The choreography will be simple, considering it’s Countdown, so at least they have that in their favor.

It is at this time, three weeks into the switch and a little over two weeks before Countdown, that Kame realizes he can’t sing. That’s not to say that Koyama can’t sing normally, but Kame isn’t familiar with the workings of this voice and everything that comes out sounds awful.

“I had a problem hitting your high notes at first,” Koyama tells him, “but nothing to this extent. What should we do?”

“I’ll practice on my own time,” Kame assures them. “Don’t worry about me right now. We can always rehearse more in Okinawa.”

“Ah, I’m looking forward to that!” Taguchi exclaims, flopping onto Nakamaru as he sighs dreamily. “It’s winter, but that’s perfect camping weather there.”

“We fly out Monday, right?” Koyama asks, flipping open Kame’s phone to check his planner. “And Tegoshi and Massu will meet us there?”

“Yeah,” Kato answers. “Since they’ll be in Yokohama, it’s pointless to have them come all the way up here just to fly down with us.”

“We’ll have two cameras, four tents, and no liquor,” Ueda deadpans. “I claim Nakamaru as my tent-mate right now.”

Nakamaru looks satisfied with this arrangement, but Koki doesn’t. “We should draw names,” Koki says.

“I’ll share a tent with you, Kouchan,” Taguchi says in a sickening sweet baby voice, and Kame makes a face as Koki plays along.

“Four tents means one of them is sleeping three,” Koyama points out. “And I doubt Tegoshi and Massu want to share a tent after spending two months together.”

“You’re small now,” Ueda tells him. “You can squeeze in with us.”

“Is it really good to segregate our groups like this?” Kame speaks up. “I mean, our groups as the viewers will know them.”

Koki laughs. “I’m pretty sure the only two people from different groups who would want to share a tent are Yuichi and Masuda.”

“Truth,” Nakamaru agrees. “Taka would probably rather share with me than Tegoshi.”

“Fine,” Ueda relents. “You two have your BFF tent and Tegoshi can stay with Koyama and me. Does that satisfy your quest for intergroup unity, Kazuya?”

Kame ignores all attempts at teasing in favor of what’s unsaid. “But that leaves…”

“KoyaShige  _have_  to share a tent,” Koyama says, giving Kame the saddest eyes Kame’s ever seen on his own face. “They’re best friends.”

“It’s fine,” Kato says tonelessly, and Kame rushes to nod. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together lately, setting all of this up, so it should look natural enough on camera.”

“It’s only one night,” Kame adds. “I’m sure we’ve all slept in worse conditions.”

“Leave your social life out of this, Kame-chan,” Koki chides him, and Kame throws a coaster at him.

Nakamaru’s phone rings then, and he grins at the display. “It’s Taka!” He instantly puts it on speakerphone and sets it in the middle of the table. “Hey, everyone’s here.”

“Hello!” Massu drawls, followed by Tegoshi’s low-tension mumble. “You’ll have to forgive Tegoshi, he’s not feeling well.”

“Oh no!” Koyama exclaims. “Be sure to take care of him, Massu! Lots of fluids and rest. You don’t have a show tonight, right?”

Massu chuckles awkwardly. “It’s so weird to hear that in Kamenashi-kun’s voice. And no, we’re on our way to Yokohama.”

“By the way, we decided our tent assignments for Okinawa,” Nakamaru informs them. “Taka is with me and Tegoshi is with Ueda and Koyama.”

“Ehhhh,” Tegoshi whines. “Why do I have to sleep with two others?”

“It’s okay, Tego-nyan,” Koyama says comfortingly. “I’ll be there, and we can snuggle away from Ueda. No offense, Ueda-kun.”

Ueda shrugs.

Tegoshi snorts. “I definitely never want to hear that from Kame-chan’s voice.”

“Since we’re all here,” Kame says pointedly, “we should run through the song. You guys got your parts, right?”

“Yeah, but I can’t sing,” Tegoshi says sadly. “I sound like a dying giraffe right now.”

“That makes two of us,” Kame replies. “I didn’t think to test out Kei’s voice until today.”

“You two just speak your lines,” Koyama directs. “The point is to know where we sing, and what key. Massu starts us off, okay? One, two, three…”

The first run-through is a disaster, but they all expected it. They all laugh and point out mistakes and offer suggestions to make it work, and Kame thinks the old man may be a genius after all. Koyama may have fared well in KAT-TUN on his own, but there’s no way Kame could have functioned in an active group the way he is now. He’s grateful for everyone being here, these four with whom he’s sang for ten years, along with the other three from his new group. If he and Koyama don’t turn back soon, Kame’s going to have to move forward with NEWS’ comeback activities as Koyama.

And as he looks at Kato across the room, carrying the bass line with a look of extreme concentration on his face, Kame thinks that this would be the worst thing to ever happen to him.

~

Being NEWS’ Koyama Keiichiro, Kame learns on the way to Okinawa, isn’t just smiling and being happy. He also has to talk, a lot, mostly nonsensical rambling that he would never do as Kamenashi. All things considering, Kame’s usually quiet on camera, letting the loudmouths like Koki and Nakamaru run the show. He answers questions, plugs their activities, and keeps the conversation from drifting too far off topic. That’s just how Kame works.

Koyama goes on about whatever comes to mind, leads nearly every discussion, and has to be told to shut up. It’s oddly exhilarating to just talk mindlessly with a camera in his face, Koyama’s eyes staring back at him in the reflection from the lens as Kame sits in his airplane seat and trolls his band mates. He even trolls himself, zooming in on where Koyama is fast asleep on Nakamaru, who only looks a little put out about it, and Kame has a blast speculating about his own workload and saying that Kame-chan looks like he could use a pampered day at the spa and a very long time to sleep in a comfortable bed.

“Kei, shut up,” Kato groans from next to him, and Kame hopes the camera doesn’t catch his twitch.

“This has been Koyama Keiichiro from the air,” Kame whispers into the camera. “Signing off until Okinawa!”

At the meeting place in Okinawa, Kame discovers another one of Koyama’s traits the hard way. Tegoshi screams Koyama’s name, calling attention to them more than the cameras, and he flails across the room to jump right on Kame, nearly knocking him over.

“Kei-chaaaaan, I missed you!” Tegoshi exclaims, hugging him so tight he can barely breathe.

Kame was marginally prepared for this, because Tegoshi acts like this with everybody, but he has to struggle to respond like Koyama and not Kamenashi. He squeezes Tegoshi back, grinning into his hair, and puts on his best upbeat voice. “Tego-nyan sure is energetic for being near the end of his tour!”

“Kei,” Kato says pointedly. “You know that Tegoshi always has higher tension  _after_  the shows. He drives us crazy, right?”

“Right, of course I know that,” Kame replies. “I was kidding.”

Tegoshi’s still half-hanging onto him as they meet up with Massu and go over the plans again, on camera. Thankfully, Massu keeps his distance, but Kame knew he would. After almost a whole month of being in Koyama’s body, he’s gotten used to the closeness and affection the new NEWS leader displays on a daily basis. It’s nice, actually. Like a hug he hadn’t known he wanted, or needed.

As they head to the beach, Kato and Koyama take over the cameras, and Kame takes the opportunity to watch Koyama act as him. He’s a natural; at least Kame thinks so despite the many pointed comments that Kame-chan seems more cheerful than usual. But Koyama doesn’t even flinch, playing the part perfectly, and Kame sees in him the Kamenashi he wants to be, whenever he returns to his own body anyway.

“You’re doing great,” Tegoshi whispers into his ear when none of the cameras are looking. “Don’t worry so much – it shows on your face. Everything always shows on Kei-chan’s face.”

Kame thinks about that, his eyes instantly drifting across their camping spot toward Kato. He’s helping Taguchi put up the tents, quite comically, and Kame wonders if Kato can read his face as easily as Tegoshi can. Since Koyama is Kato’s best friend, Kato can probably read it better than Tegoshi, and that thought sends a ripple of fear down Kame’s spine.

The weather is wonderful, cool enough for jackets in the early evening, but they had brought plenty of blankets and planned on starting a fire right there on the beach. Koki and Nakamaru are put in charge of the fire, and this only concerns Kame a little bit as the embers reflect in Koki’s eyes and make him look like a psycho. Despite Tegoshi’s prior insistence that he and Massu not do anything, Massu volunteers to man the grill with Kato, and they dine on grilled sausage and vegetables as they sit in a circle around the campfire.

Koyama has the camera balanced on his shoulder, cradled by the back of his lounge chair as he eats, and Kame finds a perk to being so short. Ueda has the other camera zooming in everyone’s face, getting unflattering shots of them chewing, and Kame makes a point to cover his mouth as he eats.

“Let’s practice our song!” Tegoshi declares when they’re all done. “Kei-chan, are you okay to sing now?”

“Yeah,” Kame answers, coughing for effect. “My cold is just about gone now, and I’ve been practicing.”

Massu rips into a bag of marshmallows as he starts singing, quickly joined by Koyama in harmony, and just like that the music flows from the nine of them. There’s no beat, but there doesn’t need to be, the crackling fire and distant ocean waves enough of a background for their alternating melodies and intricate five-part choruses. It’s the best they’ve sung it yet, and Kame can see the satisfied expression on the others’ faces in the flickering light of the fire as the sun starts to set.

Next, Ueda suggests a word game to go along with the s’mores, at which Koyama is bad and Kame is quite good. Kame purposely loses a few times, but Koyama doesn’t win at  _all_  and the other members of KAT-TUN give him a hard time about having an ‘off’ night. Then they go into the free talk, which had been planned to an extent to avoid any of the major elephants that follow the two groups wherever they go.

Kame’s amused to note that there are now more elephants than active NEWS members, and only one of them is actually KAT-TUN’s. Since the viewers will think that Koyama’s getting over an illness, he figures he can get away with being quiet and just settles back in his chair, listening to the others chat amiably while they stuff their faces with s’mores and the sky darkens above them.

“Leader is falling asleep,” Tegoshi whispers, and Kame’s mouth twitches as he fights to open his eyes.

“Sorry,” he mutters, shaking himself awake.

“You should rest,” Ueda tells him pointedly, and Kame knows that Ueda is speaking to him as Kame and not Koyama. “It’s getting cold out here and you don’t want to get sick again.”

Kame thinks that’s a little extreme, but he  _is_  tired and grateful for the excuse to leave the camera’s eye and not have to worry about acting like someone else. He fumbles as he gets up, but he’s guided by a strong hand that follows him into the tent he’s sharing with Kato.

It’s Kato who’s with him, and Kame tries not to let any emotions show on his face as Kato urges him into his sleeping bag and covers him with a blanket. “Remember, your sadistic band mates are going to film us while we’re sleeping,” Kato whispers. “Koyama’s known for utilizing everything within his reach as a pillow, so the fans would probably like it if we were ‘caught’ sleeping close together.”

Kame’s mind races with what that  _means_ , but all he does is nod and Shige disappears to join the others. The low rumble of masculine voices continue, lulling Kame to sleep, at least until awhile later when a weight dips next to him and he’s roused from his slumber. Kame’s usually a light sleeper, which isn’t very appealing in this industry. He’s always been jealous of people who can sleep well anywhere.

“Ah, I woke you up,” Shige says quietly as he settles into his own sleeping bag. “Sorry. I’m used to Koyama sleeping like the dead.”

“I wish I’d gotten that trait of his as well,” Kame admits with a yawn, his heart beating in his ears as he considers their ‘performance’ for the inevitable surprise wake-up. “So I should just hold you or something?”

Kato grunts sleepily. “Pretend I’m a pillow.”

“Okay,” Kame says, and he’s tired enough to just do it. He’s done a lot of fan service in his life and it usually doesn’t faze him, but he hasn’t yet had to do it with someone for whom he’s actually developed feelings. It’s not far to scoot his sleeping bag over, and Kato’s facing away from him, his hair going up Kame’s nose as he wraps his arms around him. “Like this?”

Grunting again, Kato leans back into the embrace. Kame breathes in his shampoo and cologne and feels a bit like he’s drugged, his senses going crazy from the overload. He enjoys it while he can, snuggling up to Kato’s back, more comfortable than he should be in a tent on the beach, and it’s easy for him to fall back asleep.

The next thing he hears is a camera poking through the flap of their tent and two voices that sound suspiciously like Koki and Taguchi. Kame makes a mental note to get them back for this when he returns to his own body, but for now all he can do is pretend to still be asleep, squeezing Kato a little tighter to clue him into their company. It’s Kato who actively wakes up and grumbles at the camera, saying everything resentful that Kame would want to say himself, and Kame thinks that they’re not that different after all.

“KoyaShige are so cute~” Koki says. “Do you two always sleep like this?”

“It’s cold,” Kato snaps at them, and Kame makes a pitiful noise like he’d just been disturbed. To his horror (and delight), Kato flips all the way around and returns his embrace, cradling Kame in his arms and burying Kame’s face in his neck. “You know he hasn’t been feeling well. Do you have no heart?”

Koki and Taguchi laugh like a pair of hyenas, but Kame just tenses. His mind is racing, with everything he’s learned about Kato thus far along with what Koyama had told him, and suddenly he considers the possibility that his band mates were doing this on  _purpose_  to give him a chance to get close to Kato.

Best wingmen ever.

“These two are boring,” Taguchi mutters, and Kame almost laughs. “Come on, let’s go peek into Kame, Tegoshi, and Tatchan’s tent and make sure nobody has their hand up a shell.”

Kame wants to roll his eyes, but all he does is will himself to relax as Koki and Taguchi zip up their tent and walk away.

“Sorry,” Kato whispers as he abruptly lets go of Kame and rolls onto his back. “I forgot for a second that you weren’t Kei.”

“You’re really close to him, aren’t you?” Kame asks, hoping it doesn’t come across too accusingly.

“It’s not like that,” Kato rushes to protest. “He loves girls, like a lot. He’s basically girl-crazy. It’s kind of silly sometimes.”

“And you don’t?” Kame could kick himself – this is the worst possible conversation they could have in a tent.

As expected, Kato starts to pull completely out of the embrace, but Kame doesn’t let him. It really is cold, for one thing, but Kame also recognizes the shame in Kato’s reaction and all boy-crushes aside, he just wants to comfort him right now.

“No, I don’t like girls at all,” Kato finally answers. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t ever apologize for who you are,” Kame says sternly, and Kato stares at him like he’s never seen him before. “We’re alike that way, you and me.”

Kato just keeps looking at him, his face barely visible in the dark, and Kame waits patiently for him to respond. It looks like Kato is having some kind of mental battle about this, which strikes Kame as odd since he was in a relationship with a man for so long; he should be more accepting of his sexuality than Kame himself. Unless it doesn’t have anything to do with that.

“You look like Kei,” Kato says after a long while of staring. “This is what messes me up the most, because you’re not Kei, but you are, and anything I do right now will technically be done to Kei.”

Kame blinks in disbelief. “What are you saying?”

“Just…” Kato’s shaking his head, rustling their sleeping bags, and Kame can’t stop the pleased noise that escapes from his lips as Kato tentatively meets his eyes. “I don’t know, Kazuya. Now that I’ve gotten to know you a little better, I really… like you.”

Kame’s heart jumps into his throat. All he wants to do is close the distance between them, responding to Kato’s feelings the only way he knows how, but he can’t do that while he’s in Koyama’s body. It would be disrespectful to Koyama, for one thing, not to mention it would be like Kato was kissing his best friend. Which is the absolute last thing Kame wants.

“I’m glad this happened,” he begins, still sorting out his thoughts. “Koyama and I switching, I mean. I don’t think we all would have gotten a chance to work together otherwise, nor would I have come to appreciate my busy life as much as I do now.” He takes a breath. “But most of all, me being Koyama has brought  _us_  together, and once I’m back in my own body, I’d really like to keep seeing you.”

“I… thought you didn’t want to be around me,” Kato says quietly. “You said you didn’t want to be there with me, that first day, so I took that to mean you didn’t like me, like at all.”

“No, no,” Kame protests, reaching for Kato’s hand and beaming when Kato laces their fingers together. “I just didn’t want to be there as Koyama. It’s true I didn’t know you very well, but once we started working together, I came to like you… a lot.”

“I’ve always kind of found you attractive,” Kato admits. “As you, I mean.”

“Really?” Kame asks, and he knows Kato’s cringing at how Koyama’s face is grinning back at him. “Sorry, let’s just go back to sleep. Maybe we’ll be lucky and in the morning I’ll be in a questionable position between Tegoshi and Ueda.”

“We can only hope,” Kato replies with a laugh, and Kame returns to his slumber in complete peace.

~

The first thing Kame notices upon waking is that Nyanta wouldn’t be panting in his face. His eyes fly open, knocking Jelly off balance from surprise as the recognizable surroundings of his own bedroom come into focus.

“No way,” he says to himself, voice thick with sleep, and he instantly grabs for his phone. The date stares back at him, one month earlier than it should be – the same date they’d changed in the first place.

Kame isn’t sure about many things right now, but he’s confident that the past month was definitely not a dream. He dials Koyama’s number, which he hadn’t known before, and it rings a few times before going straight to voicemail. Koyama’s voicemail.

He jumps out of bed and falls right onto his face. Seems he’d gotten used to those long legs.

As he gets dressed for KAT-TUN’s show recording, resisting the urge to hug his own reflection in the mirror after so long of looking at someone else, he realizes that he couldn’t possibly know Koyama’s number any other way. He’s never had a reason to call him before.

The morning is a blur, Kame leaning against the railing on the set while Taguchi and Ueda do their segments, and after it’s over, he lingers.

“Don’t you have an epic ton of shit to do today?” Koki asks, peering into Kame’s face. “Hey, are you okay?”

“I had a strange dream last night,” Kame says carefully. “We did a collaboration song with NEWS and all nine of us went camping on the beach in Okinawa.”

Ueda bursts out laughing. “What did you eat before bed, Kazuya?”

“Camping in Okinawa sounds fun!” Taguchi exclaims. “The weather is perfect for it.”

The truth dawns upon Kame that it really  _hadn’t_  happened, and he tries not to look too disappointed as he takes his leave and heads to his first photo shoot. It’s nice to be busy again, at least. It keeps him distracted.

He’s getting into his Bem face that afternoon when there’s a commotion by the door to the set, and Kame nearly falls out of his chair at the sight of Koyama Keiichiro trying to negotiate his way through security.

“It’s okay!” Kame yells. “Let him in.”

The staff all look at him strangely, but Koyama flashes a grateful smile as he bows at them and makes his way towards Kame’s makeup station. “Did you-”

“-spend a month as you?” Kame finishes for him, and the elation in Koyama’s eyes answers his question. “I tried to call you.”

“Yeah, I’m not awake at five-thirty AM,” Koyama says with a laugh. “But I recognized your number, even though I never knew it before. And I knew then that it wasn’t just a dream.”

“It wasn’t,” Kame says, his excitement rising. “Yet today is the same day it all started.”

“Don’t you see, Kame?” Koyama hisses, then his face falls. “Is it still okay to call you that?”

“Yes, yes,” Kame rushes him. “What should I be seeing? I don’t understand why this happened to us!”

“We must have travelled back in time,” Koyama says, like it’s logical. Just as logical as body switching, Kame supposes. “We were given a chance to see the future through each other’s eyes, and now we have to live it as ourselves.”

“But why us?” Kame presses. “Was it just so you could have a full schedule and I could get a break? Because that seems like a pretty lame reason for Fate to intervene.”

“It could be anything,” Koyama says. “You and I, we both have the initials KK, right? That could have something to do with it. And there were a few different variables that changed, weren’t there? The collaboration, for one thing. You and Shige-”

“What?” Kame stops him, looking around them. “And keep your voice down.”

Koyama gives him a knowing look, and it’s even more effective on his own face. “You act like Shige and I didn’t text the whole time or something. I know  _everything_ , Kame.”

“Even what happened in the tent?” Kame asks, feeling his face pale to match his makeup.

“What happened in the tent?” Koyama hisses, his eyes sparkling deviously.

Kame huffs. “Nothing! I looked like you, remember? But he did confess to me-”

Koyama’s squeal is enough for Kame to move them off of the main set, already planning how he’s going to explain this to the rest of them. Anne especially is eyeing them in interest. “I’m happy,” Koyama’s saying as he’s manhandled into the hallway. “Shige’s been so lonely, and you two are really-”

“Alike?” Kame guesses, trying to hold back his emotions. “He won’t remember any of it, Kei. All of that relationship building, working together, it’s all gone. At this time, Kato-kun and I have hardly interacted before.”

“You’ll just have to start over,” Koyama tells him firmly. “You don’t want to give up on him, right? He’ll never in a million years believe this actually happened to us, but he doesn’t have to. Just follow the same path, as yourself this time.”

“Follow the same path…” Kame repeats, watching as Koyama smiles again. “Does this mean we should try for a collaboration, too?”

“I’d really like it,” Koyama answers. “It was so much fun, even if being in your group for an extended period of time is a little scarring.”

Kame laughs. “I guess we are who we are for a reason,” he says with a wink. “Meet me on the sixth floor tomorrow morning at eight AM.”

“What? Why?” Koyama replies, his eyes widening. “The sixth floor is the executive offices… do you want us to go see Johnny-san?”

“Yes,” Kame says firmly. “If you want something, you should go after it, Kei.”

“But it won’t be you and Shige working together this time,” Koyama protests. “It will be me and him, and-”

“I don’t care about that,” Kame cuts him off. “You want to work, right  _Leader_?”

Koyama nods once. “I’ll be there.”

“I have to go,” Kame says apologetically. “You could have just called me back instead of crashing my drama set. This is how rumors get started.”

Koyama grins. “I can think of worse rumors.”

~

On the way to their impromptu meeting with Johnny, Kame flips open his cell phone and dials another number he shouldn’t have known. “Sorry for bothering you so early,” he says to the muffled grunt that greets him. “This is Kamenashi.”

“Kamenashi-kun,” the deep voice repeats. “How did you get my number?”

“Koyama,” Kame lies, and Kato stumbles a little. “He’s fine, don’t worry, we’re just working on a project that may involve both of our groups.”

“Ah, that would be fun,” Kato says flatly. “What do you need from me?”

“This isn’t a business call, Kato-kun,” Kame says, gathering up his courage. “I was wondering if you’d like to meet me for lunch. I have a free half hour today, assuming you don’t mind dining with a demon.”

Kato laughs, the rich noise comforting all of Kame’s apprehensions. “Okay,” he says slowly. “This is sudden and unexpected, but I’ll meet you.”

“Great,” Kame replies, his heart in danger of beating out of his chest. “I’ll text you the time and place. See you.”

“Later,” Kato replies, still sounding shocked, and Kame thinks that there’s irony to be found in simple parting words setting off a whole new beginning.


End file.
